LIMBO Chapter 1
by El tutu
Summary: after the great escape of Maria in her world, she teleported to a vast dimension where everything around her where nothing but darkness and death, no living thing can be seen in that dimension. but this chapter isn't about Maria, this is the story of a girl named Isabella or Isa, who want some answers about what she saw in her dreams and how it will stop her from haunting.


LIMBO Chapter 1: Isabella Celestina Camacho

"ISA! WAKE UP!"

A voice of an angry mom beneath my bedroom, screaming everyone in this household.

"just a minute!" I reply.

I recently got these weird nightmares since I read that book called "You are not the only one" by G.G Marino. I mean, Really, that book gives me chills down my spine. But since it's my book report on my Eng. Lit., I have no choice but to finish it until the last page.

"ISA! ARE YOU UP YET? BREAKFAST IS READY!"

"Y-Yeah! I'll be there in a sec!"

Oh, I forgot to introduce myself; my name is Isabella Celestina Camacho or Isa in short. I recently take a psychology major at the University of Santo Thomas last Sunday. And no, I don't read minds, thank you very much. I'm the eldest of the Tres Marias in this family, and I don't have enough time to introduce them to you. [ _sorry about that_ ]. We live here in Cavite, where every road here is jammed pack with heavy traffic; all day, all night. [ _expect to see us all sweaty and haggard looking after a long ride from home to school]_ There's nothing much to talk to you about anything, and my talents and skills are not much to be brag about. Think of me as a regular normal college girl, who want to graduate on time without any hassle or any problems in grades, finance and college life. Yeah, think of me as that freshman girl, ok. There's nothing special about me. Anyway, since there isn't much to talk about here, I'll just skip this part to where I am in the class of Mrs. Delos Santos in English literature.

At 10:30 in the morning, Mrs. Delos Santos or as we called her the Drama Queen; entered the classroom filled with papers about our book reports. [ _you know that a drama queen looks like, so there is no point of describing it to you, ok? Well, except that she's in the late 30's, so picture it as Sharpay in her late 30's, ok?_ ] before she could hand out our papers, she gave us an introduction speech to the class, like she always does that.

"Now class, I read all your book reports and I must say, I am very disappointed with you all. Your reports are very elementary, I expect a lot from you all to submit to me a well-reported paper and now this?"

And the talk begins. [ _I mean come on! Would you expect to be a well written reported paper who just enrolled in this university for almost, well I don't know, a week?! We are just freshmen coming from different public and private schools!_ ] after 2 minutes of dreadful disappointment speech, she called us one by one and handed us our paper. My paper was graded a passing score, which is good for me but not to the prof. she even commented my paper as high school leveled paper and it needs to improve better next book report. On the other hand, Danie, my BFF, got a passing score but it's commented as an elementary leveled report and it said that she need to review about grammar and stuff.

"It's not fair! How dare she commented my grammar structure where we got the same score with the same book to be reported." She said

"Come on, cheer up. It's just our first book report in a month, we're still freshies. Maybe a few more months we will never see her comments in our paper in our next book report."

"Easy for you to say, yours was commented as a good report."

"a high school leveled report? Is that a good report? Come on Danie, don't be jealous of me. You are the smartest gal in our school back then, you can't just compare yourself to me."

And then, our class proper has started.

After 3 hours of lecturing in different subjects, the bell rang and lunch has already started. In case you are wondering [ _which I think not_ ] me and Danie aren't on the same course, she takes Nursing, it just so happens that our classes match up with our schedules, but she's not the only friend I had in this university. There are four more! Danie texted me while I'm walking in the hallway, she texted:

" _Isa, we're at the fountain, hurry! Pau has some announcement."_

I wonder what kind of announcement she has? Oh well, guess I'll just find out.

After 2 minutes of walking, I've arrived at the fountain; Danie, Pau, Kiko, Vanes and Rhey are present.

"Hey, Guys!"

"Look! Isa's here!" said Rhey

"Dali! Kiko ordered us some food!" Said Pau

And all of us gathered around and seated near the fountain. Kiko and Pau opened some food and one by one Vanes handed us some paper plates and sporks. We had so much fun together, even in our high school days, we did this routine for every break we had. and now we're still doing this routine every time we had the same lunch break, and it's not like every day you do this kind of thing. After we finish eating, Pau started to talk about her announcement.

"Ok, I've been wanting to tell you and it's very important to let you know about this," said Pau

"Ok, what is it?"

"I have been…. ACCEPTED IN THE LADY TIGRESS WOMENS VOLLEYBALL TEAM!"

And every one of us congratulated her, it is super rare to be qualified in a team while you're still a freshman. But I know Pau, she's good at volleyball and I know that she will join the Lady tigress volleyball team.

"So that means you're in the lineup?" ask Vanes

"I-I don't know yet. But in this upcoming UAAP I'll be there playing with the MVPs!" said Pau

"Sweet! You will be so popular and granted the title of rookie of the year!" said Kiko

"Hey, if you became popular here in UST, don't forget us ok?"

"Ok Isa, I won't."

And our great times as freshmen continue… well, at least I think it will last.

"Hey Isa, I heard that you're gonna audition to the choir club and that audition is today, why aren't you in the auditorium?" ask Rhey

"Yeah, Rhey's right. Di ka ba pupunta?" ask Danie

"I-I back out."

"WHAT?!" all of them said the same word

"Why?! You got a beautiful voice, why did you back out?"

"Come on now guy, i-I don't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone out there. And besides, I can't sing at the stage very well. Remember 3rd-year high school, I just mortified in the stage when It's my turn to sing the Lupang Hinirang. That lasted the whole year, and I'll never gonna do that again in college."

"Come on now, you're just scared and nervous." Said Kiko

"and that's the reason I'll never gonna sing in front of everyone again."

I may be a bitch when it comes from singing but, I got a terrible stage-fright. I can't sing in front of everybody, I don't have some guts to show it. Well except to my family and friends, I don't mind them. [ _I mean come on, I just want to have fun not to embarrassed myself out there._ ] after we eat and hang out, me and Danie cut out our Elective subj. and headed to Quiapo City. [ _I know it may sound rebellious to me but it's just for this time only, I will not do this again._ ] we hang out in some places here in Quiapo and do some little shopping, particularly in accessories. After a little walk, an old lady sited in a little chair with a little table in front of her just called me and my BFF.

"You little ladies wanted to see the future?" said the old lady

"W-We're good thanks"

"But it's fun to see what kind of fortunes you'll be having soon." said the old lady

"Aw Isa, come on! We have to try fortune telling." Said Danie

And I whispered to her "Are you out of your mind?! Do you want to rob your cellphone and your wallet again?"

"Oh come on now, it's just a little fortune telling, nothing bad is gonna happened, and if there is she will telling us soon, right?"

"Absolutely."

*sigh* "ok fine, one fortune telling."

"Yehey! I'll start first, oh I wish this will help me find my one true love" said Danie

Oh come on now Danie, is this the reason you're dragging me to tell our fortune?! The old lady shuffles her tarot cards and lined it up on the table.

"Ok now child, pick three cards and then give it to me. Don't flip it out yet, just give it to me face down."

She picks three cards in separate position and then the lady assembles the excess cards back together. She gave the cards faced down and the old lady read. I and Danie are curious to what the cards said. And the old lady started to talk.

"The first card reads your past, the aces always represent a new beginning in some form, and the Ace of Pentacles suggests a strongly positive one for you. Your life is about to enter a very productive period or at least a period which will see your work rewarded in good measure to the level of work you are willing to perform. This period will also see most of your relationships on stable ground, and, despite the hard work you may be doing, you will be very content with your situation. The next card shows your present, you have some hard work ahead of you. It may be resolved quickly, but the Chariot is a powerful card, and the labor you are undertaking will probably trend towards the long and difficult. You will quite possibly experience rough roads, long uphill slopes, dead ends, and painful setbacks. A good outcome is only assured if the card is upright, but do not let yourself lose hope: This hard road will instill in you a strength of purpose, the ability to succeed through organization and endurance, and the confidence possessed only by those who have done what they thought they could not. Harnessed correctly, few forces can stand against an individual like that. The last card tells about your future, The Six of Cups is rooted deep in the past, but it is also a card closely bound to your happiness. It suggests that your family, your old friends, perhaps even past lovers, are in the process of adding greatly to the joys in your life. This card may also refer to past efforts, labors of love, and personal projects rewarding you, usually in an emotional sense, rather than financial."

"Wow, I didn't know how deep the card are. Well if that means, that my past has something to do to my love life?" said Danie

"Well, my child, I can't say much of it. You will find out soon."

"Oh ok. Isa, you're next!"

"Ok OK! Geez, don't be so pushy."

After she pushed me towards the lady, Danie picks up her phone and called someone, updating about her fortune telling, and I think that will take a little while for me to finish my fortune reading. Same as she did to Danie, the old lady shuffles her card and landed straight on the table, and she asks again to pick 3 cards. I pick 3 cards in a different position and handed to her faced down. She read it first before she could interpret me the card. Her face seems to change after she reads my card and I'm so nervous about her face.

"Well to start off, your past is likely to be positive, The King refers to you, or someone who strongly influenced your life in the situation in question, but does not have to be male. He was an authority figure who wore the yellow crown of mental energy. The butterfly on his throne is a symbol of his emergence from a chrysalis: he transformed into the confident King depicted on the card. He fought many psychological battles and gained wisdom, hence his purple mantle. He listened carefully to all sides, basing his judgment on his own experiences, trying to make the fairest decision. The birds flying over him, symbols of Air, fly above it all. Their vantage point offers them an impartial view, just like that of the King. He sometimes appeared unapproachable, unfeeling, and cold because of his remote countenance. Next is the Devil"

"oh no."

"You see dear, it can indicate pettiness, materialism, and base desires. In the Christian faiths, the Devil is the enemy. Like Lucifer, whose vanity and conceit cost him God's favor, the Devil in the Tarot can be a warning to the selfish and egotistical. Overall, the Devil is a long, hard look at our darker selves and a reminder that if pushed to the side and allowed to fester in darkness, our dark sides only grow more grotesque, and erupt when we least expect them, or when we just plain lose control. If you fear that you have not fully accepted the parts of yourself you dislike, don't lock them away. Bring them, slowly and safely, into the light. It will break the chains, and set you free. And lastly the Page of Pentacles the Page refers to you, or someone of either sex who will strongly influence your life in the situation, and tends to be young or have a youthful semblance. In this card, the Page's garments of brown and green demonstrate his connection to the earth. He gazes at his pentacle with pride and reverence; he does not take what he has for granted because he has worked so hard to earn it, and he knows he deserves what he has. He is the student, mesmerized by each mystery his studies reveal. The pay-off will matter very little to this person: he will do what he loves to do. His success will stem from his passion for his chosen field."

"W-What is that even mean? I'm very much confused about the present"

"I'm not sure where or not the cards is accurate, if I could read your palm, then I can assure you the answer that you seek."

I reach out my right hand to the old lady and she starts reading that's in my palm.

"oh, the cards are in favor to you my child, though your past is positively well, your life may, in fact, endanger in the present, I can't say when but soon it will happen."

Gulp! what. The. Heck?!

"not only the card describes to you about your unaccepting your flaws, but someone wanting your priced possession and by that my child is you need to be on guard. but if I were in your situation, I will not be panic. Help will be on their way in a various situation."

"What?"

"You, my dear are quite special, and some people will be seeing it and I will be the first human to see your extraordinary existence."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"For so many years that I've been fortune telling, only you, my dear, are the most important one in our world, you are the protector of our country."

"I am what?!"

"I may not say this in public but you shouldn't trust no one, and if ever someone will approach to you, and if you find it to be trustworthy, don't fall to its charms."

"Oookay Madam, I might be hearing crazy stuff from you, but Uhm, we should be going and thanks for your fortune telling, it's been a wonderful time wasting on you." And then we left.

I don't know how to react to this experience, it's my first time having this fortune telling and now this shit happened. I knew that this would be a bad Idea! Well enough of this shenanigan, Danie and I went home safe and sound, I didn't bring up that subject to her while we're on the bus, but it's best not to talk about this to anyone. As she drops off to her destination and leaves me alone on the bus, there is one thing that really bothers me the most. If a had a chance to ask that old lady fortune teller about my nightmares, maybe she could answer that to me, but, her fortune telling might connect to my nightmares. That certain feeling that I have still haunted me until I went home. As I got home, my mom and my sisters were at the dinner table and they said that they're waiting for me. I felt so cozy and warm when they told me about that, so I walk straight into the dining table and eat together with my family, normal as usual.

After the dinner, I fix myself in the bathroom, finish my homework and for sometimes I pick up my phone and started the group chats like I did every evening. Everything I do is constant [ _except when we go to the Quiapo lately._ ] and I didn't mind changing it every other day, but if I take the chance to believe in that old lady; about that dire warning about some evil creature that lures me, then by that it will change me forever. I just hope that it will not happen tomorrow morning.


End file.
